Colby Covington hit rock bottom after failing in his third attempt to win undisputed UFC gold.

Covington (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) has not competed since a lackluster unanimous decision loss to Leon Edwards in the UFC 296 title fight last December. His first two attempts to become UFC champion ended in defeat to Kamaru Usman.

Now Covington will look to get back into the title picture when he headlines Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 63 (ESPN2/ESPNews/ESPN+) against welterweight Joaquin Buckley (20-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) at Amalie Arena in Tampa , Florida.

“It’s been a year since my last fight and I’ve used that time to really grow as a martial artist and as a person,” Covington said on “UFC Journey.” “Mentally, I’m in better shape than ever before. After losing three chances at the undisputed title, it felt like rock bottom.

“I lost and forgot who I was and this was a good memory that woke me up again. I just had to wipe out the bad energy and knew I couldn’t let that hype and ego get into my head. I had to train harder to become number 1 again because all I ever wanted was to be the undisputed champion. That’s all I cared about.”

Covington’s third title win, following a victory over Jorge Masvidal, was perhaps his most disappointing. That’s because the former interim champion was compromised early in the fight against Edwards.

“The first kick I threw, I broke his (Edward’s) elbow. It was compromised from the first round, from the first 30 seconds of the fight, and I knew it was going to be a tough night for me,” Covington said. “With a broken foot in a big fight against a guy who wanted to rip my head off, which is probably the toughest fight I’ve ever had to go through, I know I’m so much better.

“Now it’s about coming back and giving fans a real look at Colby ‘Chaos’ Covington. People have tried to write me off, so now it’s about rewriting all those mistakes.”

For more information on the card, check out MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 63.